Hi,
I passed the PMP exam last week on my first try, receiving a rating of Proficient in four domains and Moderately Proficient in the other. It took me two months to prepare, spending 2 to 4 hours each day studying. Below I'll outline who I am and what I did to prepare for and pass the PMP exam on my first try, without opening the PMBOK Guide once.
Who I am:
- I'm 27 year old IT consultant and have spent the entirety of my ~5 year career working on client projects, mostly as a functional lead, i.e. not a project manager per se but having similar responsibilities and performing similar activities. I believe my heavy exposure to projects did help connect the dots when learning the material.
How I prepared:
1) The PM PrepCast
- For the first month, I solely used the PM PrepCast to prepare. I spent about 2 hours each day actively listening to the podcast while commuting, completing the podcast exactly a month after beginning. I took the self-assessments at the end of each lesson to check my understanding and scored an average of 80% on each.
- I kept track of my progress through the PM PrepCast with the use of a home-made Excel spreadsheet that listed each video lesson and self-assessment alongside a planned and actual completion date. This helped me forecast my completion date and keep me to the aggressive schedule I had set.
2) Rita Mulcahy's PMP Exam Prep book (8th edition)
- On the second month, I began reading the PMP Exam Prep book, going through each chapter and typing up chapter-specific notes in Word. I only did one full pass through the book, but took my time to learn the material and do the book's exercises and end-of-chapter quizzes. It took me a little over 2 weeks to complete reading and taking notes on the book.
- Once I completed the book, I spent the next two weeks (up until the weekend before the exam) reviewing my notes and making sure I understood all of the QuickTest terms listed at the beginning of each chapter.
- Similar to how I kept track of my PM PrepCast progress, I used that same home-made Excel spreadsheet to track and forecast my progress through the book and the review of my notes.
3) Practice Questions
- On the second month, I began doing practice questions from a variety of sources, my favorite being a paid iPhone app called PMP pocketprep. On average, I did about 30 questions each day that second month. I also purchased the PM Formulas PDF and Cheat Sheet and worked through those questions.
- Guess what? I kept track of all the practice questions I took in that same Excel document, noting how many questions I took, which ones I got wrong, what topics I was being tested on, and what my score was. This helped me identify which areas I needed to return to for review.
4) Brain Dumps
- On the second month, I also began practicing my brain dumps: one for the famous process chart and another for the formulas. I made a habit of trying to write out these brain dumps every day, timing myself each time. After about two weeks of practicing, I was able to confidently produce the brain dumps in less than 15 minutes. I kept up this habit up until the weekend before the exam.
5) The PM Exam Simulator
- A week before the exam, I took one full-length practice exam as part of the PM Exam Simulator, which was part of the package when I initially bought the PM PrepCast, and scored an 80%.
As you can see, I never actually read the PMBOK Guide. By dedicating those 2 to 4 hours each day and keeping to a relatively aggressive study schedule, as outlined above, I was able to feel very confident walking into the exam.
Hope this helps - Let me know if you have any questions.
All the best,
Chris Preziotti
